With increasing bandwidth available in Third Generation (3G) wireless networks, wireless service providers have started providing multimedia content, e.g., streaming video content, in addition to existing voice and data services. Wireless service providers are using a number of approaches to send data and video streams to wireless user terminals, such as using 3G unicast channels, 3G multicast channels, and 3G broadcast networks (e.g., Europe's Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) network and North America's Forward Link Only (FLO) network). In order to generate additional revenue, advertising is increasingly becoming an integral part of the content delivery strategy.
Using unicast channels to deliver content, the network typically delivers advertisements upon requests from users. For example, in exchange for free Internet searching service, advertisements are shown next to the search results (e.g., using Google, Yahoo, and like Internet search sites). Another example is Multimedia Ringback Service, in which content, including advertisements, is provided to the calling party before the called party answers the incoming call. Disadvantageously, however, delivery of advertisements over unicast channels often requires the same advertisements to be transmitted over the unicast network many times to many different users, thereby consuming valuable network resources.
Using multicast channels to deliver content, users with similar interests can join the same multicast group in order to receive content available over that multicast group. Using broadcast channels to deliver content, the network typically delivers advertisements along with the content by broadcasting the content to users. Disadvantageously, however, while advertisements delivered to users over multicast channels and broadcast channels may be tailored to the geographical location of the group of users receiving the multicast or broadcast content, advertisements delivered to such users may not be tailored to those individual users receiving the multicast or broadcast content.